


he's got you mesmerized

by ftaephoria



Series: they're in love, your honor [2]
Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Drabble, M/M, Unrequited Love, i'm sorry jake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27671360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ftaephoria/pseuds/ftaephoria
Summary: Jake's lucky he found out so early. It hurt less that way.or: alternate version of interlude: jake
Relationships: Lee Heeseung/Park Sunghoon, Park Sunghoon/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Series: they're in love, your honor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973239
Comments: 14
Kudos: 100





	he's got you mesmerized

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is the lovechild of me and an angst playlist consisting of heather, when she loved me, the one that got away, and hey there delilah.
> 
> in other words: sad.
> 
> i really hate making jake sad so this isn't canon for the in-between ahahahaha
> 
> please enjoy!

_(I still remember)_

The first time Jake sees Sunghoon, it’s from far away.

He’s getting his makeup done, preparing for his shoot. Somewhere nearby Sunoo is babbling to the stylist and farther away Youngbin is getting his picture done.

Then Jake sees a boy, who looks so pretty it is almost unreal, wandering through the crowd of people, a lost look on his face.

He wants to call out, ask him if he can help with anything (which, in hindsight, makes no sense because he’s trapped in his chair until the stylist finishes his eyeshadow), but the boy disappears. Jake shrugs and turns away.

_Well, maybe next time._

-

He doesn’t see the boy again until I-Land begins, where he learns the boy’s name is Park Sunghoon and he is even cooler and prettier up close.

For some reason, they just click. Like they’ve been friends for years and years, even though they’ve only known each other for a week. Maybe it’s because they’re the same age, or because their personalities are similar, but whatever the reason, Jake is grateful.

He finds himself spending all of his time with Sunghoon, whether it’s during practice or outside of it. He learns that Sunghoon has already been friends with some of the other I-Landers for a while, and it is through him that he meets Jay, Heeseung, and Jungwon. 

And maybe it’s because Jake is just so happy to be making friends and hanging out with Sunghoon that he fails to notice at first that Heeseung is different.

-

Jake isn’t surprised when he gets sent to Ground, not with his glaring mistakes in their first performance, but he is still devastated. He and Jay work extra hard in Ground, pushing themselves to the limit in order to come back.

Watching Sunghoon as the I-Landers performed “Fire”, Jake felt a surge of _something_ well up in his chest.

_I’ll come back. I’ll come back and perform with you._

And when he and Jay come back, and Sunghoon greets him with a grin and a hug, Jake can’t help but sob with relief.

-

Training for the Unit Test is a dream because Jake can spend even more time with Sunghoon.

Now that they’ve established themselves as the “02z line”, it’s only made their friendship stronger–now they even have a nickname for themselves!–and Jake spends the days practicing with Sunghoon, laughing through moves and teasing each other with the multitude of inside jokes that they’ve developed over the three weeks so far.

(The feeling that’s starting to warm his chest...he has a word for it but he’ll wait for it to grow.)

But he also knows that Sunghoon has other motivations. He’s seen how he looks at the dance unit with envy, and he knows that he’s been working harder than he’s let on. So it doesn’t come as a surprise when Sunghoon eventually works hard enough to make it onto the dance unit. Nor is it surprising that his best friend is so full of guilt that he breaks down apologizing to Jay afterward. But Jake gets the first _hint_ when he is looking for Sunghoon after his rehearsal and finds him in his room with Heeseung.

It’s quiet–Jake is only barely peeking into the room because it’s almost silent inside–but he can see Heeseung leaning on the headboard, holding Sunghoon against his chest. Sunghoon’s nose is buried into Heeseung’s collar, arms wrapped around his waist. He looks comfortable, like he is at home.

A churning feeling bubbles up in his stomach, and Jake forces himself to close the door and walk away.

-

(The second hint comes faster than the first. Jungwon was taking selfies and scrolling through the camera roll, and Jake decided to peek right as Jungwon scrolled past a photo of three figures sprawled out on a bed.

“Whoa, what’s that one about?” Jake asks with a grin.

Jungwon pauses at the photo. “Oh, this one?” he laughs. “Last week I ended up cuddling with the hyungs ‘cause we were all tired from rehearsal.”

The photo was of Heeseung, Sunghoon, and Jungwon all curled up together on the same bed. Heeseung and Sunghoon were on either side of Jungwon and all three were sleeping peacefully. Jungwon was clutching the hem of Heeseung’s sweatshirt while both Heeseung and Sunghoon’s arms were wrapped around the smaller boy. Their other arms rested on top of Jungwon’s torso, hands linked.

“I ended up waking up first,” Jungwon continues, giggling. “It was so funny, as soon as I left the bed it’s like they gravitated towards one another. They were definitely cuddling as I left.”

Jake feels vaguely nauseated for some reason, but he can’t look away.)

-

By the third hint, Jake knows.

He’s walking past the water fountain when he sees Heeseung leaning tiredly against Sunghoon, the empty water bottles in their hands all but forgotten.

“I don’t know how to...I don’t want him to misunderstand or get more stressed,” Heeseung sighs quietly, and _goddammit_ Jake really has to stop accidentally witnessing these kinds of things. It’s rare to see Heeseung so open and vulnerable, and Jake feels like he’s somehow intruding.

“He won’t hyung, I promise. You know Jungwon loves you a lot. He’ll understand what you’re saying because you’re his precious Heeseungie-hyung,” he hears Sunghoon reply.

Heeseung sighs. “I really hope so.”

Jake watches with morbid fascination as Sunghoon reaches over to take Heeseung’s hand, lacing his fingers delicately through the elder’s.

“I believe in you,” Sunghoon smiles. 

Sunghoon’s expressions have always been genuine, but this is the first time Jake has seen Sunghoon smile like that, with such raw tenderness in his gaze that suddenly Jake understands.

The feeling that washes over him isn’t as bad as he expects.

-

So really, it doesn’t hurt that much, nor does it surprise him, when Sunghoon bursts into his room, a wild and desperate look on his face.

“Jake, oh God,” he wails, and Jake prepares himself for what’s to come.

“–I think I like Heeseung-hyung.”

And because he’s already known, because he’s already grieved over and accepted what could have been, Jake simply nods and cracks a smile.

“I know.”

_(wish I were-)_

**Author's Note:**

> you know that feeling where something's been nipped in the bud so you're less sad about the actual loss and more upset about what could have been? yeah.
> 
> yell at me @ftaephoria on twitter!


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